CN107113602B

CN107113602B - Subscriber profile switching to support roaming within Diameter networks

Info

Publication number: CN107113602B
Application number: CN201580066228.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: R·H·许; H·J·唐
Original assignee: Ibasis Inc
Current assignee: Ibasis Inc
Priority date: 2014-10-24
Filing date: 2015-10-22
Publication date: 2021-02-26
Anticipated expiration: 2035-10-22
Also published as: US9693219B2; EP3210402A1; US20160119773A1; EP3210402B1; PT3210402T; WO2016065126A1; CN107113602A

Abstract

In an example embodiment, a method includes receiving a first update location request message according to a first signaling protocol from a visited network having a first wireless network type, the first message associated with a user equipment roaming at the visited network. The first message is converted to a second update location request message according to a second signaling protocol and transmitted to a home network associated with the user equipment, the home network having a second wireless network type. An update location response message according to the second protocol is received from the home network, the update location response message including a user profile associated with the second network type. A combined user profile is generated based on a user profile associated with the first network type and a user profile associated with the second network type. The combined user profile is transmitted to the visited network in an update location answer message according to the first protocol.

Description

Subscriber profile switching to support roaming within Diameter networks

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. application No.14/523,133 filed on 24/10/2014. The entire teachings of the above application are incorporated herein by reference.

Background

A wireless communication system such as a Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile communication system (also referred to as an Evolved Packet System (EPS) or a fourth generation (4G) system), a global system for mobile communication (GSM), or a wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) mobile communication system generally supports a roaming service. Network operators of such wireless communication systems provide roaming services to roaming users who visit from other networks, allowing roamers to stay connected even as they travel to different regions or countries.

Disclosure of Invention

Roaming services of 4G mobile networks are typically employed between two or more 4G networks between a visited network and a home network. However, for various reasons, some home networks may not be able to upgrade to or enable a 4G network, or their 3G networks may not be compatible with the 3G network in the visited network.

This lack of 4G infrastructure at the home network restricts the roamers using 4G enabled phones from accessing the 4G visited network. For example, a 4G-enabled handset from a roamer whose home network does not provide a 4G network may sense a 4G radio from a 4G visited network and attempt to access the 4G network because the handset is able to handle 4G signaling and associated procedures. The visited 4G network will first obtain the access request from the handset and attempt to involve the associated 4G mobility management procedure to first authenticate the roamer and then reject the request due to an incompatible signaling protocol between the 4G visited network and the home 3G network (e.g. the MME from the 4G network uses the Diameter IP protocol for mobility management and the 3G HLR can only understand the MAP/SS7 protocol for mobility management at the home network), resulting in a failure of the 3G roamer's 4G network access. The present disclosure describes the following solutions: a 3G user of a 4G enabled handset from a home network is enabled to access a 4G visited network and enjoy fast data services from 4G even if its home network is not already provided with 4G services.

Currently, the problem with implementing 3G roamers to use 4G access services is the many different factors between 3G and 4G networks. One of the factors is the signalling used for mobility management in a typical GSM cellular network. In 3G networks, a MAP (mobile application part), SS 7-based signaling protocol is used between the visited and home 3G networks, while in 4G, a Diameter, IP-based signaling protocol is used between the visited and home 4G networks. In order for a 3G user to use a visited 4G network, signaling conversion between the 4G and 3G home networks at the visited network is required.

Another difference factor is that the subscriber profile in the HLR at the 3G home network is different from the subscriber profile in the 4G HSS. Although the signaling translation described above may help the mobility management signaling in the 4G visited network understand its corresponding signaling from the 3G home network, further translation within the signaling payload is required to ensure that the required user profile information elements carried by the translated Diameter signaling meet the requirements from the visited 4G network service element (e.g., the visited 4G network MME) in order for the visited 4G network to authorize the 3G roamer's access to its local 4G service.

Therefore, there is a need to enable 3G roamers from 3G home networks to access data services when roaming in 4G visited networks. More generally, there is a need to enable roamers from one generation of home networks to access data services while roaming in another generation of visited networks.

According to at least one example embodiment, a method and system enable such 3G users to roam into a 4G visited network to access the 4G network as if they were home (owner) 4G users, provided the user equipment supports the 4G access protocol.

According to an example embodiment, a method includes receiving, from a visited network having a first wireless network type, a first update location request message according to a first signaling protocol, the first update location request message associated with a user equipment roaming at the visited network. The first update location request message is converted to a second update location request message according to a second signaling protocol and transmitted to a home network associated with the user equipment, the home network having a second wireless network type. An update location response message according to a second signaling protocol is received from the home network, the update location response message including a user profile associated with the second wireless network type. A combined user profile is generated based on a user profile associated with the first wireless network type and a user profile associated with the second wireless network type. The combined user profile is transmitted to the visited network in an update location answer message according to the first signaling protocol.

The first signaling protocol may be Diameter signaling and the second signaling protocol may be Mobile Application Part (MAP) signaling.

In an embodiment, a user profile associated with a first wireless network type may be retrieved from a database.

In embodiments, generating the combined user profile may include adding, changing, or deleting part or all of the user profile associated with the second wireless network type based on the user profile associated with the first wireless network type.

In an embodiment, the first update location request message may originate from a Mobility Management Entity (MME) at the visited network and may assign a serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) support node (SGSN) Global Title (GT) to the MME from a pool of GTs for MMEs associated with the visited network.

In an embodiment, transmitting the combined user profile to the visited network in a user location answer message according to the first signaling protocol may comprise: the MME address corresponding to the assigned GT is used.

In an embodiment, the first wireless network type is fourth generation (4G) and the second wireless network type is third generation (3G).

According to another embodiment, a network device includes a processor and a memory having computer code instructions stored thereon, the processor and the memory, together with the computer code instructions, being configured to cause the network device to: (a) receiving a first update location request message according to a first signaling protocol from a visited network having a first wireless network type, the first update location request message associated with a user equipment roaming at the visited network; (b) converting the first update location request message into a second update location request message according to a second signaling protocol; (c) transmitting a second update location request message to a home network associated with the user equipment, the home network having a second wireless network type; (d) receiving an update location response message from the home network according to the second signaling protocol, the update location response message including a user profile associated with the second wireless network type; (e) generating a combined user profile based on a user profile associated with the first wireless network type and a user profile associated with the second wireless network type; and (f) transmitting the combined user profile to the visited network in an update location answer message according to the first signaling protocol.

Drawings

The foregoing will be apparent from the following more particular description of example embodiments of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead being placed upon illustrating embodiments of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example signaling flow between a visited network and a home network.

Fig. 2A is a flow diagram illustrating an example logical routing and mapping arrangement.

Fig. 2B is a flow chart illustrating a first example logical routing process.

Fig. 2C is a flow chart illustrating a second example logical routing process.

Fig. 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example release process.

Detailed Description

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described below.

With the deployment of packet-based infrastructures, mobile technologies have undergone rapid evolution. all-IP (internet protocol) mobile networks based on LTE technology, also referred to as 4G mobile networks, have greatly increased the use and experience of mobile data compared to 3G mobile networks, which is why many mobile operators worldwide want to upgrade their 3G networks to 4G due to the speed of 4G, all-IP and common protocols and standards. However, the 4G deployment speed per country or region is not the same as expected due to regional regulations and spectrum availability, among other reasons. Therefore, it is necessary to ensure that a 3G subscriber can roam to a 4G network at home and be able to access data services.

Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example signaling flow between a visiting 4G network at the home network and a 3G HLR (home location register) 70 or a 4G HSS (home subscriber server) 80 via an example embodiment of a combined interworking system 50, the combined interworking system 50 including a logical DRA (Diameter routing agent) 30, an IWF (interworking function) 40, and a database 60 for 4G profiles, policies, and configurations.

In the signaling flow, a 3G roaming user UE (user equipment) 10 sends a signaling request 100 to a serving element MME (mobility management entity) 20 to access a visited 4G LTE network. MME20 in the visited 4G LTE network sends an Update Location Request (ULR) message 102 to combined interworking system 50 via S6a Diameter signaling. ULR message 102 includes an IMSI (international mobile subscriber identity) number. The IMSI is a globally unique code number that identifies a subscriber to the network. DRA 30 at combined interworking system 50 first accesses database 60 to check the IMSI embedded in received ULR message 102 according to the policy specification to determine 104 how and where to forward the received message based on the IMSI range specified in the policy specification.

In one scenario, the IMSI cannot be distinguished between 3G and 4G users, in which case DRA 30 forwards 106 received ULR message 102 to home HSS 80. At the home HSS 80, if the subscriber is a 3G subscriber and is not set in the HSS 80, a response 108 with an appropriate error code is sent back to the combined interworking system 50 to indicate the status of the subscriber. Combined interworking system 50 determines at 110 whether the error code in received response 108 indicates that the IMSI is not a 4G subscriber, in which case DRA 30 reroutes the originally received message 102 to IWF40 as ULR message 112, where a set of actions is performed and a SS7 (signaling system 7) based message is sent to home 3G HLR 70 as described further below. In case the combined interworking system 50 determines at 110 that the user is a 4G user, a normal response is sent back to the MME20 at the visited network as a normal signaling flow without involving the IWF 40. The latter signalling is not shown in fig. 1 for simplicity.

In another scenario, the IMSI may be distinguishable according to local policy, in which case DRA 30 forwards the received ULR message 102 to IWF40 at 105, where a set of actions is performed and the SS 7-based message is sent to home 3G HLR 70 for further processing.

Upon receiving the 4G signaling message from the DRA 30, the IWF40 dynamically assigns a serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) support node (SGSN) global name (GT) to the MME20 from a pool of GTs for MMEs associated with visited networks (emulating a 4G MME as an SGSN in a 3G network) at 114 and converts the ULR message 102 to an updategprs location req message 116. The updategprs location req request message 116 is sent to the home HLR 70 via the 3G SS7 signaling network using the MAP (mobile application part) protocol. An update GPRS location res response 118 containing the 3G GPRS user profile is sent from the home HLR 70 back to the IWF40 via the SS7 signaling network using MAP. Upon receiving the response message 118 from the home HLR 70, the IWF40 generates a combined user profile at 120 based on the received 3G GPRS profile and the local 4G profile accessed by the IWF40 from the database 60. In particular, the IWF40 reconstructs the combined user profile into the associated new attribute-value pair (AVP) by the MME address corresponding to the GT assigned in the request message and sends an Update Location Answer (ULA) message back to the DRA 30, wherein the newly reconstructed ULA is sent back to the MME20 in the visited 4G network at 122 to complete the 4G signaling loop.

According to an example implementation, the signaling messages are based on the Diameter protocol and/or the MAP protocol. However, it will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that other types of signaling messages, for example, other than Diameter protocol or MAP protocol, may be employed.

As described above, DRA 30 accesses database 60 to retrieve the 4G user profile for the user identified by the IMSI. An example of an information element contained in a 4G subscriber profile that is not present in a release 7HLR in 3G is "APN configuration profile". The APN configuration profile contains a Context Identifier identifying a default APN configuration, and a list of APN configurations each identified by a Context Identifier (Context-Identifier), as described in 3GPP TS 29.272[81] and 3GPP TS 29.273[78 ]. The default APN configuration (default APN) is permanent data that typically resides at the home HSS; in the system of the present disclosure, this data is part of the 4G profile stored in the database 60 and accessed by the combined interworking system 50. Since this data is an example of an AVP missing from the home HLR in the received updategprs location res message 118, the IWF40 reconstructs the profile and adds the missing AVP and may include the 3G AVP in ULA 122 to ensure that the AVP needed by MME20 with the correct value is for the 3G home MNO set at DRA/IWF 50.

Other non-limiting examples of information elements contained in the 4G user profile in a release 7HLR that is not present in 3G include EPS subscribed QoS profiles containing bearer level QoS parameters (QCI and ARP) associated with default bearers for the APN (3GPP TS 23.401) and the subscribed APN-AMBR, maximum aggregated uplink and downlink MBR (maximum bit rate) established for the APN to be shared across all non-GBR bearers. Other non-matching information elements may be adjusted (mediate) using the same mechanisms as described herein, according to 3gpp ts 23.008.

Fig. 2A illustrates an example logical process at the IWF40 for setting up routing and mapping information in a system for visiting a 4G network and a 3G home network. In one embodiment, the system needs to access a domain name of the 4G network, such as mncxxx.mccxxx.3gppnetwork.org, to identify the visited network realm (realm) present in all relevant signaling messages 202. For each visited network domain or realm, the well-known signaling address world wide name (GT) address pool used in SS7 is allocated to represent the 3G service elements corresponding to its 4G service elements, such as the GT address as a visited SGSN, which is used to represent the MME in the visited network to communicate with the 3G home network 204. The mapping of the GT pool and domain to visited LTE operators will be saved in a file or database (206) in a table format. The process continues 208 with the same settings for each visited network that may need to communicate with a 3G home network.

Figure 2B is an example logical routing process at the IWF40 implemented when receiving a Diameter signaling request, such as ULR message 112 (figure 1). In an embodiment, the IWF40 checks the existing mapping table at 212 to see if there is a mapping of the visited service address under the set visited network domain or realm with the allocated GT address from the active database or associated GT pool of files for recording the mapping and configuration. If a record is found at 216, the existing timer mapping the record is reset and the existing GT continues to be used at 220 to map service elements from the visited network and send the translated message to the 3G home network 224. If there is no record at 216, indicating that a new request arrives, the IWF40 assigns a GT from a preset GT pool at 218 for accessing the service element, uses the GT as a source address at 222 for sending the translated message at 224 to the 3G home network. At the same time, the new mapping record is updated in the activity database at 214 using the expiration timer setting.

Figure 2C is an example logical routing process at the IWF40 implemented when a MAP message, such as the updategprs location res message 118 (figure 1), is received from the 3G home network over the SS7 signaling network. In an embodiment, the IWF40 receives the MAP message at 230 and checks the existing mapping table from the active database or file at 232 to see if there is an existing mapping record in FQDN (fully qualified domain name) format between the received GT address and the destination service address for accessing the network using the domain name or realm name set in the system. If a record is found at 234, which means that the previous service element from the visited network is still valid, waiting for a response or ready to receive a new request, the IWF40 proceeds to reconstruct the 4G signaling message based on the local 4G profile and the received 3G user profile embedded in the received MAP message using the found address (FQDN), and sends the constructed 4G signaling message to the service element in the visited network via the 4G

Diameter signaling network

236, 240. At the same time, the existing timer of the mapping record is reset. If there is no record at 234, meaning that the MAP message received from the 3G home HLR 70 is not suitable for further processing, an error message is generated to the 3G home network. Further validation during setup may be included to ensure that the correct GT pool is assigned to the visited network and the 3G home network 238.

Fig. 3 depicts an example process of releasing a GT back into a GT pool for use in accessing other service elements in the network. In one embodiment, there is a process of monitoring Diameter session activity from each service element of visited network 302. If there is a period of inactivity, which may mean that no Diameter session originates from or binds to a service element, represented as a FQDN in the visited network, that is greater than a predefined value (e.g., timer (2)), the active database of the mapping table is notified, with further action being taken to reflect the monitoring information 304. For example, existing GT may also be released back into the pool even if timer (1) is still not activated. If the period of no activity is less than timer (2), timer (2) is reset and monitoring of activity of the target service element in the visited network continues.

In another embodiment, there are several ways to release GT in the active mapping table indicated in 306, including: (a) if timer (1) is activated without receiving any information of timer (2), meaning that there is no activity from the existing used mapping, GT can be released to its GT pool; (b) if timer (1) is not activated and an update from 304 is received from timer (2), meaning no signaling activity from the visited network, the associated GT may be released to its GT pool according to the policy, resulting in flexible control of the use of the GT.

It should be appreciated that the example embodiments described above may be implemented in many different ways. In some cases, the various DRAs, IFWs, "data processors" or network devices described herein may each be implemented by a physical or virtual general-purpose computer having a central processor, memory, disk or other mass storage, communication interfaces, input/output (I/O) devices, and other peripherals. A general purpose computer is converted into a processor and performs the processes described above, such as by loading software instructions into the processor and then causing execution of the instructions to perform the functions described.

As is known in the art, such a computer may contain a system bus, where a bus is a set of hardware lines used to transfer data between components of a computer or processing system. A bus is essentially a shared conduit that connects different elements of a computer system (e.g., processor, disk storage, memory, input/output ports, network ports, etc.) that enables the transfer of information between the elements. One or more central processor units are attached to the system bus and provide for the execution of computer instructions. Also attached to the system bus is typically an I/O device interface for connecting various input and output devices (e.g., keyboard, mouse, displays, printers, speakers, etc.) to the computer. The network interface allows the computer to connect to various other devices attached to the network. The memory provides volatile storage for the computer software instructions and data used to implement the embodiments. The disk or other mass storage device provides non-volatile storage for computer software instructions and data used to implement, for example, the various processes described herein.

Thus, embodiments may generally be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or any combination thereof.

In certain embodiments, the processes, devices, and processes described herein constitute a computer program product that includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium, such as a removable storage medium, such as one or more DVD-ROM's, CD-ROM's, floppy disks, tape, or the like, which provides at least a portion of the software instructions for the system. Such a computer program product may be installed by any suitable software installation process, as is well known in the art. In another embodiment, at least a portion of the software instructions may also be downloaded over a wired, communication, and/or wireless connection.

The computer executing the processes described above may be deployed in a cloud computing arrangement that makes available one or more physical and/or virtual data processing machines to a shared pool of configurable computing resources (e.g., networks, servers, storage, applications, and services) through a convenient on-demand network access model that can be quickly provisioned and released with minimal administrative effort or service provider interaction.

It should also be understood that the block diagrams and network diagrams may include more or fewer elements arranged differently or represented differently. It should also be understood that certain implementations may specify block diagrams and network diagrams, and that the various block diagrams and network diagrams illustrating the execution of the embodiments are implemented in a particular manner.

Thus, additional embodiments may also be implemented in various computer architectures, physical, virtual, cloud computers, and/or some combination thereof, and thus the computer systems described herein are for illustrative purposes only and are not meant to be limitations of the embodiments.

The teachings of all patents, published applications and references cited herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention encompassed by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method, comprising:

(a) receiving a first update location request message according to a first signaling protocol from a visited network having a first wireless network type, the first update location request message originating from a Mobility Management Entity (MME) at the visited network and being associated with a user equipment roaming at the visited network;

(b) assigning a serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) support node (SGSN) Global Title (GT) to an MME associated with the visited network from a pool of GTs for the MME and converting the first update location request message to a second update location request message according to a second signaling protocol;

(c) transmitting the second update location request message to a home network associated with the user equipment, the home network having a second wireless network type;

(d) receiving an update location response message from the home network according to the second signaling protocol, the update location response message including a user profile associated with the second wireless network type;

(e) generating a combined user profile based on a user profile associated with the first wireless network type and the user profile associated with the second wireless network type; and

(f) transmitting the combined user profile to the visited network in an update location answer message according to the first signaling protocol using the MME address corresponding to the assigned GT.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising determining whether the user equipment is associated with the first wireless network type or the second wireless type.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising performing steps (b) through (f) only if the user equipment is associated with the second wireless network type.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein determining is based on a user identifier associated with the user equipment embedded in the first update location request message.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the first signaling protocol is Diameter signaling and the second signaling protocol is Mobile Application Part (MAP) signaling.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising retrieving the user profile associated with the first wireless network type from a database.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the combined user profile comprises adding, changing, or deleting some or all of the user profile associated with the second wireless network type based on the user profile associated with the first wireless network type.

8. A method according to claim 1, further comprising releasing the GT to the pool.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless network type is fourth generation (4G) and the second wireless network type is third generation (3G).

10. A network device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory having computer code instructions stored thereon, the processor and the memory, together with the computer code instructions, being configured to cause the network device to:

11. The network device of claim 10, wherein the processor and the memory, with the computer code instructions, are configured to further cause the network device to determine whether the user equipment is associated with the first wireless network type or the second wireless type.

12. The network device of claim 11, wherein the processor and the memory, with the computer code instructions, are configured to further cause the network device to perform steps (b) through (f) only if the user device is associated with the second wireless network type.

13. The network device of claim 11, wherein determining is based on a user identifier associated with the user device embedded in the first update location request message.

14. The network device of claim 10, wherein the first signaling protocol is Diameter signaling and the second signaling protocol is Mobile Application Part (MAP) signaling.

15. The network device of claim 10, wherein the processor and the memory, with the computer code instructions, are configured to further cause the network device to retrieve the user profile associated with the first wireless network type from a database.

16. The network device of claim 10, wherein generating the combined user profile comprises adding, changing, or deleting some or all of the user profile associated with the second wireless network type based on the user profile associated with the first wireless network type.

17. A network device according to claim 10, wherein the processor and the memory, with the computer code instructions, are configured to further cause the network device to release the GT to the pool.

18. The network device of claim 10, wherein the first wireless network type is fourth generation (4G) and the second wireless network type is third generation (3G).

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer code instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause an apparatus to: